two lil fillibens: Margot Carter Filliben

After becoming so sure that she wasn't going to get here prior to Ford (he was 13 days early), I went into labor the morning of October 1st - and Miss Margot arrived that night, 14 days early. What a good listener she is.

My labor story: At 6:30 in the morning, I started having contractions about four minutes apart. I didn't believe I was actually in labor the first hour or so, but finally called the triage nurse at my doctor's office around 8. The nurse told me I could go ahead and go to the hospital, but I was terrified of being in false labor and the hospital sending me home (my water broke with Ford, and I'd had Braxton-Hicks contractions throughout both pregnancies, so I didn't really have an idea of what real labor felt like, or how to distinguish it from false labor), so I set up an appointment with the doctor at 9:30. The doctor told me that I was "probably" in early labor, but that because the contractions could still go away altogether, I didn't need to rush to the hospital just yet.

I was told I'd "just know" I was in labor, but it wasn't that clear cut. I thought I'd have an answer after calling triage, but I still didn't. I thought I'd definitely have an answer after seeing the doctor, but nope. So from 10:30 to 1, Jamie and I walked around a pretty area about a mile from the hospital, stopping into Starbucks a couple of times for a snack and to charge our cells phones. The contractions stayed consistent, but didn't get more intense or closer together. So although we still weren't sure, we finally strolled into the hospital at 1 p.m. (keep in mind this is 6.5 hours after my contractions had been less than 5 minutes apart - which is when you're usually told to go to the hospital), and luckily, I was admitted.

38 week picture at 7:30 a.m.

Doctor office at 10:00 a.m. Labor?

Walking around at 11:30. Labor?

Hospital triage at 1:15. Labor?

Admitted and checked in at 1:45. Labor!

Soon after I was admitted, the doctor broke my water with what looked like a large knitting needle. I got an epidural and Pitocin (to speed up labor) a couple of hours after that. Less than a couple of hours after the Pitocin, I was ready to push. Pushing lasted 13 minutes, and at 9:10, she was here, weighing 6 pounds 8 ounces and measuring 20 1/4 inches.

Hello, Margot!: Everything is going great so far. She's a lot sleepier than her brother was (we have very few pictures of her from the hospital with her eyes open), and a little fussier, maybe, but other than that they're very similar in both looks and temperament.

Here are some pictures from the hospital her first three days: